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Perkins Island Lighthouse Fun Facts
Location: Perkins Island
Closest City: Parker Head, Maine
Latitude: 43.7867 Longitude: -69.7852
Body of Water: Kennebec River
Open to Public: Site: Yes
Tower: No
Station Established: 1898
Present Tower Activated: 1898
Status of Light: Operational
Tower Height: 23 ft.
Optic: 250mm,
Fifth Order Fresnel,
National Register Reference #: 87002282
Listing Name: Perkins Island Light Station
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The Perkins Island lighthouse is located across from the town of Parker Head on an island on the east side of the Kennebec River. Originating from 1898, the 23 foot octagonal, white, wooden tower with black lantern is accompanied by a a two story Victorian keeper's quarters and a barn (both from 1898) ), a boathouse (1901), a pyramid-shaped wooden sound signal building and a brick oil house (both from 1902). The light and fog signal have been automated and the original fifth order Fresnel lens has been replaced by a 250mm optic. The original fog bell is on display at the high school in nearby Georgetown.
Ownership of the Perkins Island lighthouse site (sans the tower) was transferred to the Maine Department of Natural Resources in the 1960s. By 2000, the buildings, suffereing from years of neglect, had fallen into severe disrepair. That same year, the Coast Guard leased the light station to the American Lighthouse Foundation, which started a new chapter called the Friends of Perkins Island Lighthouse, to help restore and preserve the tower and accompanying buildings.
The Perkins Island lighthouse remains an active aid to navigation but the site is open to the public. Access is strictly by boat but great a view can be had from across the river in Parker Head. The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath offers Boat tours past this site as well as the other Kennebec River lights.
Lighthouse Accessibility
- This site (excluding the tower) is open to the public.
- The lighthouse can be viewed from several local boat tours
and can be seen across the shore from Parker Head.
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